I Hear Him
by Girl With The Dandelion
Summary: "She didn't know why, but she knew, knew it in her heart  for she could not trust her mind, not anymore , that the man had the answers. She knew that he was something more than human." One shot of the Masquerade sequence from the movie.


The glitz of the ball stunned Sarah. She was beginning to panic. She could remember nothing about anything.  
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What is this?  
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Everyone around her wore seemingly frightening masks. It was clear they were meant to terrify Sarah. The faces were the same faces that haunted her nightmares. She couldn't help but be enchanted though. The masquerade was something right out of the fairytales Sarah so openly coveted. Her nightmares held no fear for her; not in this place. Not now. A nightmare was still a dream, and a dream come true was all Sarah had ever asked for.

She walked though the crowd, searching. For what, she did not know. She only knew she needed to search. The masked strangers laughed at her. They knew only too well the hopelessness she felt. They were apart of Sarah after all. Every failure, every hatred, every sorrow, embodied into the demons from her nightmares. They would not help her find that which she looked for. They could only laugh. It was after all, all Sarah expected from anyone. How else could they act? They were created out of her deepest fears. Laughter was one of them. The masked men and women knew nothing other than how to displease Sarah.

She expected everyone to laugh at her. Underneath her tough exterior was a child, afraid of being singled out. Her dreams and ambitions were laughed at daily…weren't they?  
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No, that doesn't seem right. Isn't there someone who believes in me?  
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A strong force of the word no echoed throughout her mind. Shaking her head in an effort to clear her thoughts, Sarah looked through the crowd again. This time though, she felt as if she was being watched. Unable to shake the feeling, she backed herself into a corner. She felt every pair of haunting eyes turn toward her. Not wanting to make contact with such fearsome eyes, Sarah looked down. The masquerade resumed.

Keeping her eyes down, Sarah stumbled through the throng of people. She was overwhelmed with the sense that someone was watching her again. This time, her eyes met another's. A pair of eyes so dark in color, they looked almost black. And when Sarah blinked, they and the masked man they belonged to, were gone.  
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Strange.  
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She noticed a group of women staring at her and giggling.  
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How kind of them.  
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With a roll of her eyes, and her head held high, Sarah walked right past them. She stopped short when the eyes met with hers again. The man she saw looked magnificent in his costume. He removed the mask then, and she saw the rest of the perfection that was he. He had a head full of blonde hair, and ears so pointed they were straight. She knew he was something more than human. He was surrounded by women, but he only looked at her. He even smiled. She strained her eyes. The air blew into them, forcing them to water. She blinked, and in that sudden blink, he was gone.  
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Oh, its not fair! How am I supposed to identify him if he keeps disappearing!  
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Frustrated by the nightmares and the staggering man, Sarah felt tears sting her eyes this time.  
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No! Be stronger than this. Be strong for Toby!  
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She immediately stopped thinking. She could hear the gowns swishing around as couples paired off for an intricate dance. The sight truly was beautiful. Lights from the ceiling bounced off of the jewelry and masks. The gorgeous music was almost enough to distract Sarah. Almost.  
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Toby. Who's Toby? Goblins…wishes…what?  
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Sarah brought a hand to her forehead and groaned. Opening her sight to the beauty around her, Sarah saw the eyes again. This time, she did not blink. This time, it was enough to make her forget again. She heard his voice in her head. It was a soothing, smoldering voice.  
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Do you like the party Sarah?  
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She blinked and he was gone.  
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Dammit!  
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Picking up her skirts, Sarah rushed through the ball this time. She didn't know why, but she knew, knew it in her heart (for she could not trust her mind, not anymore), that the man had the answers.  
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I'm waiting Sarah.  
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She quickened her pace with great difficulty. No one was moving out of her way, not that she expected them to. For some reason, Sarah felt pressed for time. Something inside of her told her that the more time it took to find the eyes, the more time she would never get back.  
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What am I chasing after? Why don't I have the time to take?  
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The laughter around her grew more intense. Sarah was still searching for the haunting eyes, the eyes that knew the answers. Through the music, a child's faint laughter could be heard echoing.  
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I hear him. I hear the answer. What is it?  
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For the first time, Sarah noticed a rather large clock on the wall. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. With each note the clock struck, she wanted to run farther than possible; she wanted to run to the ends of the earth. With her hands balled into fists at her side, the girl who didn't know, the girl who was pressed for time, the girl who was blind with fury, made a mad dash for the clock.  
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You will not decide for me! I have as much time as I wish! _

Just as she was about to reach it, two strong arms pulled her in another direction. It was him; the man with the eyes. He pulled her onto the nightmarish floor. In an elegant twirl, they were now apart of the dance. She forgot the clock. She forgot her fears. She forgot to remember. She forgot it all. With one look from those powerful eyes, Sarah was as lost as she had ever been before. With one look, she was forgotten.  
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I should look away.  
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She stared straight into his soul searching gaze. Instead of the reflection she expected, in the man's eyes, she saw desperation. She saw fear, and love, and hate, but most of all she saw desperation. It occurred to her that maybe it _was_ her reflection. When she blinked, it was still in his eyes, forever unchanging. She knew then it was not her she was seeing, but instead she was seeing his very mind. His every thought right there in his eyes. _What could he have to be so desperate about?_ She could hear the child laughing again. His giggling gave way into tears, and eventually, it cut off altogether. She looked away. She ran away.  
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Sarah.  
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She turned around. The beautifully frightening man was holding something in his hands. To everyone else, it appeared to be nothing but an ornate glass ball. For Sarah however, he held the world. Still, though his gaze made her weak, made her feel things she never had before, made her forget, there was one thing it could not do for her. It could not erase the memory of the child.  
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Please Sarah. Please don't leave me._

It broke her heart to see such desperation. _Sarah. I love you. Say your right words.  
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She blinked and a single tear fell down her cheek. _If you loved me, you would let me go. You would give back the child. You would…  
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She didn't know how she had thought such things; she knew it had to be her though, the real Sarah. This empty Sarah was not who she was and she knew it. _I am a fighter and I am stronger than this! _

Picking up a nearby chair, Sarah threw it into the wall, shattering the world around her. She knew this was not reality; reality was not this amazing and unreal. Reality was not this frightening, it was not this blatant. It was so much more than all of those things. _This is just fantasy. _Just before her world went black, Sarah saw the man shaking his head. This time, she knew right away it was not her reflection in his eyes. What she was so terribly tragic, Sarah herself couldn't imagine looking so broken. While she still could, she whispered the words, hoping that they were right, hoping against all hope they were her words and not the words of a scared little girl forgetting who she was. _  
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"I love you too."_  
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_**Alrighty, how'd this go? Its my first upload in awhile! Also, my first shot at a Labyrinth one shot. Now, I was too lazy to pop the movie in, but she does throw a chair at a clock right? Or does she just toss a chair at the wall and it shatters? My memory is hazy...if I got it wrong, I do apologize and I'll fix the error right away! Feedback would be much appreciated. EDIT 12-11-10: I just realized I had her throw it into a wall regardless o.o I must have decided on the wall before the clock...I should probably proof read these things before uploading...**


End file.
